Editor’s note: The title change on this column has been coming for a while, I just hadn’t gotten to it until now.
For eight-and-a-half years, I’ve been billing my editorial here as “From The Barstool Of The Publisher.” Truth be told, the total number of columns under that heading that were actually written on a barstool equals exactly one — the very first one.
All of the others have been written at my desk, and most with headphones on in the wee hours of the night. So I figured since you’re getting a glimpse of the stuff floating around between those ears, this title was more accurate.
Sorry to have misled you all this time.
Now, I really hope you’re writing this all down.
I’ve yet to flip my calendar to August; at press time we were still a few days away from the first. But already, I know the month is getting full, and weekends are pretty much spoken for.
Simply put, August is going to RULE, and in my opinion it’s the best month of music so far this year.
The first show on my absolute “Must Hear” list for the month is Flaming Lips and Primus at Red Rocks on August 3. For years, the Lips have been one of the best live acts in the country, with a show that is almost like Chuck E Cheese’s for adults. But even some of their biggest fans admit that if you’ve seen the Flaming Lips once, you don’t need to see them again. I’ve never agreed with this argument, and this summer especially, those naysayer don’t have a leg to stand on, since the Lips are changing their show drastically to perform the Holy Grail of rock albums, Dark Side Of The Moon.
The very next night, at the very same venue, My Morning Jacket, with their incredible new album Circuital, will be providing the ear candy. It’s been a couple years since we had a non-festival set from the Jacket in Denver, and after having had this album in constant rotation most of the summer, I’m really excited to hear this righteous rock sound reverberate between the monoliths.
The following week, Bohemian Foundation’s NewWestFest will provide Fort Collins with a crash course in Colorado music. Forget about the headliners; the amount of local talent that will play the festival is astonishing, and this will be one of the best places to catch up on what’s going on with the Front Range’s music scene.
The next weekend is Folks Fest with the inaugural set from the highly anticipated and elusive Weir/Robinson/Greene Trio. This could be a one-time only gig for the group, and while we know they’ll be playing some Dead songs, it’s the other tracks they’ll play in their set that will be the real fun.
August will be capped by the 13th annual NedFest and a headlining spot by Leftover Salmon. No other band has done so much for music in that community and having them play the pinnacle set gives us a warm and fuzzy feeling that you can only get when family comes together to support family.
It’s gonna be a great month and we hope that you get through it unscathed.
See you at the shows.
